1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote control lock operation system for vehicles comprising a hand-held remote control transmitter, a receiver capable of receiving a signal transmitted by the transmitter, a control unit for determining whether or not the signal received by the receiver is acceptable and then operating and controlling the lock actuator based on the received signal when it is acceptable. The invention also relates to a system and method for providing an emergency operation of the lock control system even when the hand-held remote control transmitter has been lost.
2. Description of Background Art
In four-wheeled vehicles of recent years, a remote control operation system using an infrared signal for locking and unlocking the door locking mechanism without using the key is widely employed.
On the other hand, in light vehicles such as the conventional motorcycles, and scooters, various mechanical locking mechanisms (for example, a main stand locking mechanism, a handle locking mechanism, and so on) are provided in right positions for mechanically disabling traveling of the vehicles for prevention of theft or tampering. These mechanical locking mechanisms are adapted to be locked and unlocked arbitrarily by the user by directly operating the lock operation portion provided on the vehicle body with the key.
In order to enable the mechanical locking mechanism as described above to be unlocked by the remote control lock operation system using the infrared signal, without using the key, it is possible to have a remote control lock operation system for mechanical locking mechanism by combining the transmitter, the receiver, the lock actuator for driving the mechanical locking mechanism, and the control unit with the mechanical locking mechanism.
However, a remote control lock operation system thus constructed, can be unlocked easily, by simply connecting the battery power source to the wiring section leading to the lock actuator. As such, a vehicle so equipped can be readily stolen. Moreover, with this configuration the total number of the components of the system is large, and thus the system becomes complex, which may result an increase in costs and weight.
Another problem exists in the case where the user has lost the remote control transmitter, or for some other reason is not available. If this occurs, the infrared signal that corresponds to the prescribed identification data of the system cannot be transmitted. Thus, the lock actuator cannot be operated and controlled (that is, locked and unlocked) without using a key.